Jaime Leverton, Doug Mouton and Michael Turner
to Join the Board and Bring Directly Applicable AI/HPC Conversion,
Data Center and Real Estate Experience
Retains Evercore and Northland Capital to Lead
Engagement with Potential AI/HPC Partners Following Increased
Inbound Interest
Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) (“Riot” or “the Company”),
an industry leader in vertically integrated Bitcoin mining, today
announced the appointment of Jaime Leverton, Doug Mouton and
Michael Turner to its Board of Directors (the “Board”). The three
new directors were selected through a comprehensive process
conducted by the Board’s Governance and Nominating Committee, with
constructive, independent input from each of Starboard Value LP and
The D. E. Shaw Group. Collectively, the new directors possess
experience directly overseeing the conversion of Bitcoin mining
assets for potential artificial intelligence (“AI”)/high-
performance computing (“HPC”) uses, managing data center operations
and maximizing the value of dynamic real estate properties similar
to those owned and operated by Riot.
Moving forward, the Board will consist of six members, and Ms.
Leverton and Mr. Mouton will be serving as Class I Directors
standing for election at the upcoming 2025 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders. Additionally, current directors Hannah Cho and Hubert
Marleau will be retiring from the Board. These changes are all
effective immediately.
Benjamin Yi, Executive Chairman of Riot, stated:
“Jaime, Doug and Michael bring complementary expertise to the
Board that will be immediately applicable as we continue to assess
how best to maximize the value of our unique assets. We would like
to thank each of Starboard and D. E. Shaw for their respective
input and constructive approach throughout this process. I would
also like to thank Hannah and Hubert on behalf of the entire Board
for their significant contributions during their time as directors.
Their roles in the growth and evolution of Riot have been
instrumental and we are grateful for their service to Riot and our
shareholders.”
Riot also announced that it has engaged Evercore, a premier
global independent investment bank, to act as financial advisor in
relation to the Company’s evaluation of AI/HPC uses for the
Company’s power assets at its Corsicana Facility in Navarro County,
Texas, in order to maximize their value. The Company has also
engaged Northland Capital Markets to help support the evaluation
process. Riot previously announced the launch of a formal
evaluation process and that it had engaged Altman Solon – a leading
consultant to the data center industry – and other industry
experts.
Since the initial announcement of its formal evaluation process
for the remaining power capacity at the Corsicana Facility, Riot
has received increased inbound interest from multiple potential
counterparties and the Company looks forward to accelerating its
engagement with the support of its financial advisors.
Jason Les, CEO of Riot, commented:
“We are excited to continue to advance our AI/HPC evaluation
process as we seek to maximize value for our entire portfolio of
assets. We believe there is an opportunity to deliver substantial
value to our shareholders and are confident we have the right team
in place that will be able to help us conduct this process as
efficiently and effectively as possible.”
There is no assurance that Riot’s existing assets are suitable
for AI/HPC conversion, that AI/HPC conversion can be achieved on
financially advantageous terms or that an AI/HPC partnership can be
negotiated on suitable terms that provide sufficient value for
shareholders.
About Jaime Leverton
Ms. Leverton most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of
Hut 8 Mining Corp., one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin
mining companies, where she facilitated extensive M&A and
capital markets activities, including the company's Nasdaq listing
and its expansion into the HPC space through the acquisition of
TeraGo, Inc.’s data center business. Prior to Hut 8, Ms. Leverton
held leadership roles as Chief Commercial Officer at eStruxture
Data Centers and General Manager, Vice President for Canada and
APAC for Cogeco Peer 1 (now Aptum Technologies). Ms. Leverton also
served as Managing Director, Financial Markets, for National Bank
of Canada and as Vice President, Carrier Sales and Distribution,
Americas at BlackBerry in addition to holding leadership roles at
both Bell Canada and IBM Canada. She previously served on the
boards of directors of Hut 8 Mining Corp. (NASDAQ: HUT) and
WonderFi Technologies Inc. (TSX: WNDR) (OTCQB: WONDF). Ms. Leverton
holds a Bachelor of Social Science and Bachelor of Arts in
Psychology and Political Science from the University of Ottawa, a
Master of Business Administration from Dalhousie University, and an
Institute of Corporate Directors, Director certificate from the
Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Ms. Leverton brings highly relevant data center leadership
skills and experience in converting Bitcoin operations into the
AI/HPC space.
About Doug Mouton
Doug Mouton is currently a member of the Advisory Board for
Fidelis New Energy, a developer of multi-gigawatt, zero carbon
power facilities in Europe and the U.S. He was previously Senior
Engineer Lead, Datacenter Design and Construction, at Meta. Prior
to that, he was Vice President, Global Datacenter Delivery, at
Microsoft, and Group VP at Jacobs Solutions. He has over 33 years
of leadership experience from his service in the U.S. Army National
Guard, and has a background in driving innovation and efficiency in
the design and construction of data centers, cloud infrastructure,
and large-scale industrial projects. Mr. Mouton graduated from the
U.S. Army War College in 2008 with a Masters of Strategic Studies,
Military Science, and Operational Studies. He graduated from the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1990 with a Bachelor of
Arts in Architecture.
Mr. Mouton brings practical expertise in the design,
construction and scaling of data centers and deep familiarity with
the requirements of hyperscalers.
About Michael Turner
Mr. Turner is the former President of Oxford Properties Group, a
leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business
builder, as well as the former Global Head of Real Estate for the
OMERS pension plan. While Chair of Oxford’s Leadership team and
Investment Committee, Mr. Turner was responsible for the overall
guidance and strategic direction of the global team. Previously,
Mr. Turner held the positions of Executive Vice President and
Senior
Vice President at Oxford Properties Group. Prior to joining
Oxford, Mr. Turner was Executive Vice President at CBRE Group,
Inc., a leading global real estate investment services provider. He
currently serves on the board of directors of Lineage Holdings
(NASDAQ: LINE) and is a member of the Audit, Compensation and
Equity Award Committees. He previously served on the boards of
several investment and asset management companies, including M7
Real Estate (UK), Honest Buildings (sold to NYSE: PCOR) and R-LABS.
Mr. Turner holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British
Columbia, a Master of Planning from Queen’s University and a Master
of Finance from the University of Toronto, and is a CFA charter
holder.
Mr. Turner brings deep real asset investment and capital
allocation experience.
About Riot Platforms, Inc.
Riot's (NASDAQ: RIOT) vision is to be the world's leading
Bitcoin-driven infrastructure platform.
Our mission is to positively impact the sectors, networks and
communities that we touch. We believe that the combination of an
innovative spirit and strong community partnership allows the
Company to achieve best-in-class execution and create successful
outcomes.
Riot is a Bitcoin mining and digital infrastructure company
focused on a vertically integrated strategy. The Company has
Bitcoin mining operations in central Texas and Kentucky, and
electrical switchgear engineering and fabrication operations in
Denver, Colorado.
For more information, visit www.riotplatforms.com.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements that reflect management’s current
expectations, assumptions, and estimates of future performance and
economic conditions. Such statements rely on the safe harbor
provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Because such statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Words such
as “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,”
“will,” “potential,” “hope,” similar expressions and their
negatives are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited
to, statements relating to the Company’s development at its
facilities and the Company’s plans, projections, objectives,
expectations, and intentions about future events and trends that it
believes may affect the Company’s financial condition, results of
operations, business strategy, short-term and long- term business
operations and objectives and financial needs. These
forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties, including, without limitation: risks related to the
Company’s growth, the anticipated demand for AI/HPC uses, the
feasibility of developing the Company’s power capacity for AI/HPC
uses, competition in the markets in which the Company operates,
market growth, the Company’s ability to innovate and expand into
new markets, the Company’s ability to realize benefits from its
implementation of new strategies into its business, estimates of
Bitcoin production; our future hash rate growth (EH/s); the
anticipated benefits, construction schedule, and costs associated
with the development of our mining facilities in Texas, Kentucky
and elsewhere; our expected schedule of new miner deliveries; our
access to electrical power; the impact of weather events on our
operations and results; our ability to successfully deploy new
miners; the variance in our mining pool rewards may negatively
impact our results of Bitcoin production; our megawatt capacity
under development; risks related to the
Company’s inability to realize the anticipated benefits from
immersion cooling; the inability to integrate acquired businesses
successfully, or such integration may take longer or be more
difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than anticipated;
or the failure of the Company to otherwise realize anticipated
efficiencies and strategic and financial benefits from our business
strategies. Detailed information regarding the factors identified
by the Company’s management which they believe may cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements in this press release may be found
in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”), including the risks, uncertainties and
other factors discussed under the sections entitled “Risk Factors”
and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” of the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2023, as amended, and the other filings the Company
makes with the SEC, copies of which may be obtained from the SEC’s
website, www.sec.gov. All forward- looking statements included in
this press release are made only as of the date of this press
release, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which the
Company hereafter becomes aware, except as required by law. Persons
reading this press release are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on such forward-looking statements.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250212054443/en/
Investor Contact Phil McPherson 303-794-2000 ext. 110
IR@Riot.Inc Media Contacts Alexis Brock PR@Riot.Inc Longacre
Square Partners riot@Longacresquare.com
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